Chapter 63: Exclusive on Jinjiang 2/2

This couldn’t be entirely blamed on the fans; it was clear that Wen Qian himself had always indulged the fans in shipping him with Octopus Teacher. Even in his early years, he became popular by chasing after Octopus Teacher’s cosplays, intentionally guiding fans in this direction, making them easily influenced.

There were a few comments saying, “The character is a bit out of character, and watching him cross-dress and dance feels uncomfortable.” However, they were quickly countered by Wen Qian’s fans, saying if it makes you uncomfortable, just endure it; someone loves watching.

Someone also said, “Ah, isn’t he blatantly riding on Octopus Teacher’s popularity?”

This single statement ignited the comment section, clearly pointing at the recent incident of people accusing Fufu of riding on Octopus Teacher’s popularity.

The fans immediately became defensive, rapidly building towers of comments, refuting that Wen Qian and Octopus had known each other for a long time, that they had cosplayed together, and that they had meals together. With Wen Qian having so many fans, why would he need to ride on anyone’s popularity? That newcomer, Fufu, is the one who’s useless, relying on Octopus’s characters to gain attention.

Almost every comment in Wen Qian’s video supported him, and even those who voiced opposing opinions were immediately counter-attacked.

This left Luo Luli furious, pointing at the screen and cursing.

Song Fuzhi watched for a while but soon lost interest; it wasn’t worth his time.

Teacher Song didn’t care, but Luo Luli wasn’t willing to let it go.

She coldly clicked the mouse, determined to find a reason.

Song Fuzhi tried to stop her, but Luo Luli was stubborn.

After a while, Wen Qian posted a new update himself.

@Wen Qian: I see many fans still talking about the ‘Yu Wen’ CP. I hope everyone lets it go. Octopus Teacher is already married in the real world, so discussing his CP is not very polite.

 Wen Qian also posted a response, saying, “Octopus Teacher and I are just occasional dinner buddies! Please don’t make random guesses.”

“Thank you for your support over the years. If possible, please click the button below to vote for me. Thank you, bosses!”

The comments quickly filled with praise for Wen Qian’s understanding attitude and positive demeanor.

Luo Luli couldn’t stand it anymore: “Cosplaying the popular CP of Octopus’s previous character while claiming to be just good friends? Oh my god, this is too much.”

Song Fuzhi calmly said, “They can’t even be considered good friends. Shi Zhang has never had dinner with friends from the cosplay circle.”

Shi Zhang spent most of his time either at school or sticking to Song Fuzhi. Any social events were always discussed with Song Fuzhi beforehand.

Considering the household chaos caused by Shi Zhang, there was no way he’d casually go out for meals with cosplay circle friends.

Luo Luli felt a bit queasy and showed Song Fuzhi what she found.

“In the top ten male cosplayers on this ranking, three of them are signed with an MCN company called ‘Line Culture.’ You surpassed two of them and took the top three positions, with Wen Qian still in first place. It’s highly likely that the rhythm in your comments is set by this company.”

Song Fuzhi made a thoughtful sound but wasn’t surprised.

Luo Luli continued, “Do you know how Wen Qian became popular? Initially, he was a model, noticed by Line Culture for his looks. As the second dimension became more popular, they packaged him as a cosplayer. In reality, he doesn’t like the second dimension; he never posted related content on Weibo in his early years.”

“After that, he kept chasing Octopus Teacher’s characters, cosplaying their CP, stirring up popularity. It’s all too skilled, and the company must be involved in the planning.”

Although Song Fuzhi had zero interest in these matters, he could understand.

He sighed lightly. “Cosplaying wasn’t like this in the early days.”

As the second dimension gained popularity, attracting more people, there were naturally both advantages and disadvantages.

When the forest gets bigger, all sorts of birds come. For those seeking fame and profit, they all came here to grab a share, each showing their talents and making this place less pure than it used to be.

But this was the inevitable result of development. As long as he could maintain his passion, that was enough.

Song Fuzhi didn’t expect that right after Luo Luli told him about it, Feifei would find him via private message.

Feifei: FuFu Teacher, are you there? I saw Wen Qian’s update. He’s really good at twisting things!

Feifei: Let me tell you something secretly. Wen Qian only cosplayed with Octopus Teacher twice. The first time was cosplaying game characters at an eSports competition. I was there too, and they probably exchanged three sentences—hello, goodbye, and pleasant cooperation.

The second time was probably a sponsor that Wen Qian’s company pulled in. I don’t know how they managed to invite Octopus Teacher, but they interacted a bit with a few cosplayers from their company.

Feifei: Maybe they’ve had two meals together, both for business. Does Wen Qian dare to claim that he and Octopus Teacher are ‘good friends’?

Feifei: I wouldn’t dare say that about myself!

Feifei: You know, I was one of the people who arranged Octopus Teacher’s schedule. The Octopus Teacher even gave a wedding gift to my friend! That’s amazing! But we wouldn’t dare say we’re close to the Octopus Teacher. Wen Qian is just too much; it makes me angry!!

As he spoke, Feifei became more and more agitated, and his exclamation marks increased. Song Fuzhi was amused.

Towards the end, Feifei restrained himself and said seriously: Wen Qian has a company, and they’ve used water armies before to suppress a rookie web celebrity. It feels quite similar to what’s happening now.

Feifei was afraid he wasn’t clear enough and asked, Fu Teacher, do you understand what I mean?

Song Fuzhi smiled and replied, I understand. Thank you. I’ll keep the evidence, and I’ll consult a lawyer later.

Song Fuzhi didn’t plan to sit idly by, but at the moment, he wasn’t focusing on this. He didn’t have time to get entangled in these matters.

Luo Luli was still fired up, impulsively suggesting, “Why not just tell Shi Zhang directly? He would definitely tear apart Wen Qian and that dumb company on the spot.”

“No need.” Song Fuzhi shook his head casually. “For the sake of a minor character, ruining the surprise I’ve carefully prepared is not worth it. I only have two more cosplays to go!”

Luo Luli pointed at him and said, “After you give Shi Zhang his birthday surprise, hurry and tell him about this. Octopus Teacher, dealing with it personally is the most effective way to shut that idiot up.”

This was quite rude, and Song Fuzhi remained non-committal. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Whether Shi Zhang knows or not doesn’t matter. I can handle it myself.”

Luo Luli widened her eyes. “You can handle it yourself? Ah no, I still suggest you honestly tell him. There’s no need to bear this yourself. Your matters are, after all, related to Octopus.”

Although Luo Luli had only met Shi Zhang once, a woman’s intuition was always terrifying.

She easily realized, from Shi Zhang’s initial hostility towards her and the attention he showed to Song Fuzhi in his words, that Shi Zhang’s feelings for Song Fuzhi were probably deeper and more significant than she had anticipated.

She also realized that Shi Zhang wasn’t as gentle and carefree as he seemed. If Song Fuzhi didn’t take the initiative to talk about this, who knows what kind of crazy things he might do?

Before they parted ways, Luo Luli reminded Song Fuzhi again, but Teacher Song still didn’t care much about Wen Qian’s situation. He was only concerned about his last two cosplays.

“I want to go back and flip through Octopus Teacher’s early photo albums and pick the most popular one from back then.” Song Fuzhi counted on his fingers. “Then for my last cosplay, it must be the character Octopus cosplayed for the first time—very satisfactory.”

As Song Fuzhi spoke, there was a youthful and lively glint in his mature and steady eyes. Luo Luli couldn’t help but look dumbfounded.

In Luo Luli’s impression, Song Fuzhi had always been the serious and stern teacher, occasionally a bit mysterious, only chatting with her about handsome guys and toys online.

In reality, Song Fuzhi was always reserved. Even when rehearsing lines at comic conventions, he would be meticulous. With such lively eyes, Luo Luli felt as if she were seeing a joyful young man.

Preparing a surprise for a loved one and eagerly anticipating their reaction to unwrapping the gift, Song Fuzhi gained a lot from this process. Although he might not be aware of it himself, Luo Luli could see it.

—

“What else do you want to ask? It’s so annoying, ahhh!”

Tongtong went berserk.

On the other side of the screen, Shi Zhang’s typing hands finally stopped, and he began to reflect.

Every day, he had to ask Tongtong for help on eight hundred details, ranging from what quality of beef to choose to whether the home decor should be in a luxurious European style or a warm pastoral style. Successfully, he drove his former stylist and assistant insane.

“Now, I won’t answer any questions regarding makeup and styling.” Tongtong sent a smiling emoji.

Professor Shi felt embarrassed and sent several large red envelopes as compensation. Then he turned to bother two other people.

There was no way around it; this was probably the most significant event since they got married.

Every time Shi Zhang sent a distress signal in the group chat, it meant something big. For example, last time, he suddenly announced that he was getting married.

This time, both Zhong Ziyan and Ouyang Xi were puzzled. They asked directly, “Does Boss Shi have any major news to announce?”

Shi Zhang, being straightforward, explained clearly, “Song Fuzhi’s birthday is coming up, and he likes anime. So, I’m planning to cosplay as his favorite character for a day-long date.”

Zhong Ziyan:???

Ouyang Xi:???

Both of them, in unison: Your husband is also into anime. When did you find out, and why didn’t you tell us earlier?

Explaining took a while. Professor Shi kept them hanging with stories and asked for suggestions on planning the date.

“Wait a moment, stop.” Zhong Ziyan asked. “So, does Teacher Song know that you used to be the famous cosplayer Octopus Teacher?”

Shi Zhang: “Not yet. Let’s see how he reacts to this cosplay. If he likes it, I’ll tell him.”

Zhong Ziyan directly sent a voice message, sounding excited: “So, if Teacher Song also likes it, does it mean you might make a comeback, Octopus Teacher?”

Shi Zhang: “I haven’t thought about it. I’ll listen to Fuzhi.”

While Ouyang Xi laughed at Shi Zhang being a “strict husband,” Zhong Ziyan sent another voice message.

“Boss, our company has been testing the waters with online variety shows these past two years. We recently did a couple-themed show with an anime theme, and the response was quite good. Now we’ve pitched a new concept, a cosplay-themed show, and we’re recruiting participants. We’ve contacted big names abroad, but for our Chinese big shots, Octopus Teacher is the one who could hold that position.”

Shi Zhang: “…”

Shi Zhang: “Alright, give me some advice first. Should I wear perfume that day?”

“No problem, I’ll immediately send you eight hundred bottles of the most irresistible men’s cologne to your doorstep. It’ll definitely make Song Laoshi swoon.” Zhong Ziyan chuckled.

“The show isn’t urgent. Just listen for now; you need to know about it. Besides, I guess you’ll have to consider your husband’s opinion.”

Shi Zhang nodded openly. “Yes, Fu Fuzhi is like that.”

“So, what scent should the sophisticated killer use?”